Visible Light Spectrum…Painting with light
PAINTING WITH LIGHT
The word “photography” originates from the Greek language and literally means, light writing. Isaac Newton first used the word spectrum which is Latin for “appearance” or “apparition”. The visible light spectrum is the section of the electro magnetic radiation spectrum that is visible to use humans.
I try to remind the viewer that everything within my imagery is alive, breathing and pulsating with life. I want the organic textures and animals to jump off the paper, out of the frame and immerse the viewer in a living world of intricate wonder.
Similar to composing a song, the interlocking elements in these pictures are like visual notes of changing colour which sing and dance. These colours transport the viewer into a space where imagination, science and nature merge in a symphony of colour. Due to the very nature of photography colour and light play a vital roll in my creative process. All living things are made up of a spectrum of colours, some they absorb and some are reflected. The reflected colours are the ones which are visible to us, However, in a lot of my imagery I am also interested in the colour spectrum which is not normally visible to the human eye. Most of us are familiar with infra-red light, but there are many other rays of light on either side of the “visible light spectrum” we cannot see.
A lot of my imagery I visualise from the inside out by trying to show the colours we cannot normally see. Some of these colours living things absorb which is why I often use a very high frequency colour palette to represent this. Plants and leaves are a re-occurring theme in my work, and by combining these natural textures with living creatures a never-ending story of discovery continues.
Leaves remind us that sunlight brings life, they absorb the sunlight turning it into energy and through photosynthesis breath in the living colour. In moments of clarity, higher states of conscience and fleeting moments I think some of these rays of light do become visible to people. Many of my artworks hint at the idea that there is more than meets the eye. I am interested in capturing the effect of elements we cannot see but know they exist because of their effect on the environment and surroundings. For example we cannot see the wind but when the clouds are moving, the trees are blowing and we feel its pressure on our skin there is no denying it exists. Making the invisible visible is an interesting challenge with unlimited ways to portray it.
Nearly all light that we interact with comes in the form of white light, this white light contains many or all of these wavelength ranges within them. When you shine white light through a prism this causes the wavelengths to bend at slightly different angles due to optical refraction. As a result the light is split across the visible color spectrum.This is how a rainbow appears, with air-born water particles acting as the refractive medium.
It is the life force through living textures that creates an inner glow I am attracted to. Like a moth drawn to a lightbulb, I want the internal glow of elements growing in the images to attract the viewers attention and temporarily take their breath away. I use depth of field, contrasting colours, selective soft to sharp focus and movement to create an atmosphere of being drawn into the image, through a window into another world.
(The text below was sourced from Lansing State Journal, May 4, 1994)
“When different wavelengths of light hit our eyes, we see different colours. Light from the sun or light bulbs has many different wavelengths. This great mixture of wavelengths is commonly perceived as white. If the light hits an object – a road, tree, house, anything really – the object absorbs some wavelengths. Other wavelengths are reflected, and those are the ones we see. When an object absorbs all wavelengths to a great extent, it appears black. If it largely reflects all light, it appears white. Objects that absorb only a fraction of all the wavelengths appear coloured. You can think of these phenomena in terms of the analogy: Light falling on an object is somewhat like rain falling on the ground. During a thunderstorm, some raindrops are quickly absorbed into the earth, but others hit so hard and fast they bounce off the ground.”
